Red Sox 1B Willson Conteras apologizes for roles in scuffles with Nationals, Yankees as 7-game suspension looms

Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras made an unprompted and tearful apology on Saturday for his role in two recent bench clearings, according to Tim Healey of the Boston Globe.

Contreras was at the plate for both incidents against the New York Yankees last Friday and the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, the latter of which landed him a seven-game suspension from MLB. He is currently playing while appealing the suspension.

Per Healey, Contreras alluded to a difficult week as a factor for his behavior:

"Very emotional time for me," he said. "Those situations could have been avoided and controlled and handled better."

"It's been a really tough week, emotional week for me. I hope that they understand how emotional it has been, and I'll prove myself with my actions on the field from here moving forward and show the kind of person that I truly am."

It’s unclear if Contreras specified why it’s been a difficult week, but one would assume it has to do with the recent earthquakes in his native Venezuela.

Soon after his apology, Contreras continued a career season with a three-run homer against the Los Angeles Angels. He was widely considered a major All-Star snub, but could be in line to take a spot after the withdrawal of starter Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The first incident against the Yankees saw Contreras and pitcher Will Warren exchange words after the slugger took a high and inside fastball his elbow protector. Both benches and bullpens immediately cleared, though the situation didn’t escalate further than some heated discussions.

The Nationals incident was far more heated, and controversial.

The confrontation began when Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli struck out Contreras and yelled “Sit down boy!” Contreras changed his trajectory from the dugout to Cavalli and began exchanging words.

This time, the bench clearing actually led to something that could actually be described as a brawl, with Conteras having to be pulled away from the scrum. Contreras, Red Sox pitcher Nate Eaton, interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas were all ejected from the game.

The Red Sox made their outrage over Cavalli’s “Boy” comment clear after the game, which led to Cavalli apologizing and insisting he had no knowledge of the racial undertones associated with that phrase.

Like Contreras, Cavalli was also suspended seven games. Mikolas also got five games while Eaton got three games.